Business Commons^™

Transparency, Risk, And Managerial Actions, Gwendolyn Pennywell

Finance Dissertations

I investigate the relation between firm risk and firm transparency over the period 1992-2006 and find that the level of firm transparency and the level of firm risk are negatively related. I also find that higher CEO pay-performance sensitivity (delta) works to mitigate this inverse relationship. This result is consistent with Hermalin and Weisbach (2007) who suggest that managers reduce risk to protect their pay and performance evaluations under higher levels of firm transparency. I further find that firms in high technology industries are more likely to increase risk relative to firms in other industries when transparency is high. Finally, …

Two Essays On Financial Sector Performance In Latin America, Omar M. Al Nassar

Theses and Dissertations - UTB/UTPA

This dissertation consists of two essays on financial sector performance in Latin America. These two essays complement each other so that, when placed together, they are expected to provide policymakers with guidelines on how to design appropriate financial sector reform strategies in an attempt to promote long-term economic development, and thus to attract more foreign direct investment (FDI) inflows not only for Latin American countries, but also for developing countries in general.

Chapter one investigates the extent to which the short and the long-run relationship between financial development and economic growth exists in Latin America. It focuses on two major …

The Impact Of Exchange Rate Movements On Firm Value In Emerging Markets: The Case Of Mexico, Chrystell Flota

Theses and Dissertations - UTB/UTPA

It is a widely held belief among financial theorists, economic analysts, empirical researchers, and even the financial press, that exchange rate fluctuations ought to affect a firm's cash flow expectations and thus the value of the firm. Previous research has examined the relationship between currency exposure and firm value by focusing primarily on developed economies and on various variables regarding the firm's assets and revenues. The empirical evidence has not fully established what the link is between currency exposure and firm value; however, the evidence suggests that the relationship could be firm-specific, depending on the geographical distribution of the firm's …

The Research On Function And Application Of Financial Leasing For Small And Medium Size Shipping Enterprise: Decision Making On Ship Financing In M Company, Yu Miao

World Maritime University Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Influence Of Financial Storm On The Ship Chartering Market And The Way Of Risks Control, Xingyuan Sun

World Maritime University Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Research On Scf Model Under Financial Crisis: An Integrated Sc Project In China Based On Financing, Rui Liu

World Maritime University Dissertations

No abstract provided.

The Correlation Analysis Between Financial And Shipping Industry, Bailin Sui

World Maritime University Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Research On The Supply Chain Inventory Management To Gen Garment Co. Ltd, Wei Wang

World Maritime University Dissertations

No abstract provided.

The Evolution Of Lianyungang Port Fund From Share Market, Pengyu Bai

World Maritime University Dissertations

No abstract provided.

The Research On Risk Evaluation Of Shanghai Lng Import Program, Chao Lin

World Maritime University Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Earnings Management Around Mergers And Acquisitions, Eugenie Ann Ardoin Goodwin

Doctoral Dissertations

Earnings management has become a topic of interest when trying to explain anomalies in company stock performance following corporate events such as equity offerings and mergers. If managers are trying to manipulate earnings upward to increase stock value before a merger to achieve a better exchange ratio at acquisition announcement, they may use discretion in accruals to inflate earnings and/or reduce spending in research and development prior to the announcement. Literature results are mixed as to whether firms engage in opportunistic earnings management using discretionary accruals before acquisition announcement and if this manipulation has an impact on stock performance post-announcement. …

External Financing: Market Timing Or Managerial Optimism, Beth Collins Hegab

Doctoral Dissertations

Management of capital structure is an important part of maximizing the firm value. Financial research has proposed many theories that explain aspects of firm behavior when a firm makes financial decisions that change the firm's capital structure. However, none of the theories fully explain why firms with similar fundamental characteristics make different financing choices.

This study focuses on what motivates managers when they are making external financing decisions. It investigated whether the motivation for the decisions about capital structure are driven by market timing or managerial overoptimism. This is done by focusing on equity and debt issues and whether these …

Mission Statements: The Soul Of An Organization, Brian Johns

Honors Theses

When a culture is created or decisions are made, the presence of a viable mission statement is critical. This document can be used as a tool to create a business environment employees are attracted to, as a model for how decisions should be made, and is an image of who the company is and what it does. This paper looks to explore the makeup of a good mission statement through scholarly articles and research and the effect it has on corporate culture through real life examples of top companies in a variety of industries, supported by first-hand experience from the …

Investigating The Persistence Of Hedge Fund Returns Over The Period Of 1998 To 2005, John Conway

Financial Analyst

No abstract provided.

The Role Of The Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention And Consumer Protection Act In The Real Estate Crisis, Sarah Maheu

Honors Theses

No abstract provided.

Safe & Cheap, Moon Li, Brian Burrow

Honors Capstone Projects - All

Summary

Our project bundles investment research reports spanning the authors’ time in the Orange Value Fund (OVF), a student run hedge fund in the Whitman School of Management. Each report exemplifies the fund’s unique, bottoms-up investment style. In contrast to traditional valuation methods that focus exclusively on projecting company earnings, the OVF adopts a micro-level approach to analyzing investment opportunities. Analysts study company documents such as annual reports, credit agreements, and proxy statements to identify safe and cheap opportunities.

Safe

A safe company has access to capital markets, a super-strong financial position, honest and competent management, and an understandable business. …

Financial Planning For High School Students, Evan Weissman

Honors Capstone Projects - All

The global financial crisis of the early 21^st century has taught us many things about human nature, our societal goals and the finance industry overall. Perhaps the most surprising finding, however, has been the observance of financial illiteracy among the general public. The combination of greed and ignorance towards financial responsibility has played an important role in the collapse of our financial system.

The financial illiteracy of our society has been an epidemic in our country for some time. Financial planning is a topic that has been rarely taught in high schools. This has lead to an influx of …

Essay 1: 'An Examination Of The Efficiency, Foreclosure, And Collusion Rationales For Vertical Takeovers' Essay 2: 'Determinants Of Firm Vertical Boundaries And Implications For Internal Capital Markets', Jaideep Ranjal Shenoy

Finance Dissertations

Essay 1: An Examination of the Efficiency, Foreclosure, and Collusion Rationales for Vertical Takeovers We investigate the efficiency, foreclosure, and collusion rationales for vertical integration using a large sample of vertical takeovers. The efficiency rationale posits that vertical integration prevents future holdup between non-integrated suppliers and customers. In contrast, the foreclosure and collusion rationales suggest that vertical integration harms competition. To distinguish between these hypotheses, we examine the wealth effects of the merging firms, acquirer rivals, target rivals, and corporate customers on announcement of vertical takeovers. Our univariate and cross-sectional results suggest that firms alter their vertical boundaries in a …

Ceo Risk Taking And Firm Policies: Evidence From Ceo Employment History, Lingling Wang

Finance Dissertations

I propose that CEO employment history is an observable characteristic that reveals the CEO’s unobservable risk-taking preferences. I hypothesize that CEOs that change employers more frequently (mobile CEOs) have a propensity to bear risk and implement riskier firm policies. Using a sample of S&P 1500 CEOs, I find that firms are more likely to hire mobile CEOs when the firm’s prior risk is high, firm-specific human capital is less important, the prior CEO turnover is forced, the prior CEO has a shorter tenure and the board is smaller and has fewer insiders. Mobile CEOs increase financial leverage, invest more in …

Does Supervisory Information Explain Security Market Information? Evidence From The Credit Default Swap Market, Timothy Buckler

Theses & Honors Papers

This paper examines the ability of supervisory information to explain variation in the Credit Default Swap Market. Using data from the fourth quarter of 2004 to the third quarter of 2008, variation in CDS was able to explained well using only Call Report Data. These Call Report data that are proxies for credit risk, leverage risk, and liquidity risk are found to be significant in at least one model. There is evidence of both omitted variables and heteroskedasticity in both models. Further work that controls for the movements in related markets, namely the equities market, and the use of Heteroskedasticity-consistent …

An Analysis Of Society’S Reaction To Whistleblowing From The 1920s – 1990s, Rachel Elizabeth Scott

Honors Theses

No abstract provided.

Product Market Competition And Corporate Mergers And Acquisitions, Yen-Chih Liu

Theses and Dissertations in Business Administration

Conventional models assume competition improves corporate efficiency as firms strive to outperform competitors. In the context of agency models, the link between competition and managerial behavior becomes fuzzy. Hart (1983) and Schmidt (1997) posit that competition reduces managerial slack. Scharfstein (1988) argues that competition might increase managerial shirking. Recent studies on the relation between managerial compensation and competition further document conflicting evidence. In this study, I examine the effect of product market competition on corporate mergers and acquisitions. My initial results suggest that the definition of competition is critical in evaluating corporate mergers and acquisitions. Using three new dimensions (product …

The American Health Insurance System: What Went Wrong And How We May Fix It, Joseph Maxfield Vincent

Honors Theses

No abstract provided.

An Econometric Analysis Of The Effectiveness Of Compensation To Retention, Juan Jose Guzman

Theses and Dissertations

In July 2001, Lieutenant General Donald L. Peterson, Deputy Chief of Staff, Personnel, United States Air Force, testified before Congress that adverse retention rates were senior leadership’s number one concern. Military compensation sustains "defense manpower policies that in turn support the nation's defense strategy." Defense spending must be allocated efficiently to maintain the optimal mix of forces and weapon systems to respond to national security objectives. The President requested $149.9 billion for military pay and healthcare for Fiscal Year 2009, or 29 percent of the total proposed defense budget. When military compensation constitutes nearly one-third of department expenses, its impact …

Analysis Of The Military Medical Retirement System, Joseph M. Barnum

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this research was to evaluate the 60 year old military medical retirement system. Specifically, this thesis answered three research questions regarding a comparison of pay between the current system and the societal standard for injury and illness, identification of current segments of the military population disproportionately affected by the current system, and establishment of a minimal standard for medical retirement compensation. Previous research established the societal standard for compensation as the Value of Statistical Life. This thesis compared the current military medical retirement system with the Value of Statistical Life and identified several segments of the military …

Cost Forecasting Models For The Air Force Flying Hour Program, Tyler J. Hess

Theses and Dissertations

The fiscally constrained environment in which the Air Force executes its mission places great emphasis on accurate cost estimates for planning and budgeting purposes. Inaccurate estimates result in budget risks and undermine the ability of Air Force leadership to allocate resources efficiently. This thesis evaluates the current method used by the Air Force and introduces new methods to forecast future Flying Hour Program costs. The findings suggest the current forecasting method’s assumption of a proportional relationship between cost and flying hours is inappropriate and the relationship is actually inelastic. Prior research has used log-linear least squares regression techniques to forecast …

The Correlation Of Human Capital On Costs Of Air Force Acquisition Programs, Stephen E. Gray

Theses and Dissertations

Previous studies have linked human capital with performance. The studies have shown performance, measured as output, of a firm can be increased by adding more personnel and/or increasing education levels. This research uses the Cobb-Douglas Production function to build upon that relationship of inputs to outputs. The output in this study is the average cost overrun of Aeronautical Systems Center research, development, test, and evaluation contracts managed from 1994 to 2008. The inputs are the numbers of military/government employee financial managers, program managers, engineers, rated personnel, and military/government employees in those career fields possessing a graduate degree or higher. A …

Modeling U.S. Occupational Health Costs, Joseph M. Bauer

Theses and Dissertations

The primary purpose of this research was to improve the effectiveness of cost comparison analyses for the 75th Aerospace Medicine Group, Hill Air Force Base, Utah. Bioenvironmental engineers sought a more robust cost comparison tool, allowing engineers to quickly determine the viability of proposed occupational health-related expenditures. To justify the funding of potential projects, engineers must quantify the expected cost savings. Improved cost comparison analysis enables personnel to better justify worthy projects or filter out uneconomical solutions. A secondary purpose of this research was to validate Department of Defense (DoD) occupational illness cost factors. This research effort focused on cost …

A Cost Analysis Of Dining Facilities: Should The Air Force Continue To Operate Dining Facilities?, Michael J. Hickam

Theses and Dissertations

The Air Force is currently spending approximately $128M per year for food service contracts alone (Hamilton, 2008). These costs do not even account for the costs of labor, supplying food, maintenance contracts, or even utilities. With available annual dollars becoming smaller, the Air Force must examine its current processes and eliminate those which are not mission essential. The Air Force is currently testing new ways of providing meals for their enlisted members. In, 2009, several bases will begin using a swipe card system where airmen can use their swipe card to eat at any services operated facility. In addition, several …

Niche Publications: Their Popularity And Profitability At Newspapers In Utah And West Virginia, Hilary Groutage Weible

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

Newspapers have turned to niche, or specialty, publications as a way to boost revenue and readership since the popularity of the Internet and the rapidly changing ways of news delivery left many awash in a sea of red ink beginning in the mid 1990s. There is little empirical evidence that these publications benefit the host newspaper. This study is an attempt to add to that bank of knowledge. Editors, publishers and advertising managers in Utah and West Virginia were invited by e-mail to answer a Web-based survey about the popularity of niche publications among their readers and staffs. The study …